Does anybody use Lion Trimmers anymore?

[Harry Thornton]

I have one but I don't foresee using it enough to sacrifice room for it in my shop. What would it sell for. The blade feels sharp to the touch but I understand it needs to be as sharp as a scalpel to work properly.

[Jim Becker]

Can we assume you mean a miter cutting doo-hickey...picture framers use them quite a bit for that "perfect" miter joint.

[Harry Thornton]

Yes, sorry, I just did a little research and it is a Lion Trimmer, aka mitre cutting doo-hickey/whatchamacallit.;)

[Doug Shepard]

Norm Abrams occasionally uses one on NYW.

[Bob Winkler]

I have one but I don't foresee using it enough to sacrifice room for it in my shop. What would it sell for. The blade feels sharp to the touch but I understand it needs to be as sharp as a scalpel to work properly.
I've often consider getting one for picture framing, but it was always hard to justify their high price.

Bob

[lou sansone]

hi harry

I thought I might add a little to the answers you have already received. Attached you will find pictures of what is really the picture frame industry standard machine that is used to cut miters "by foot". There are also electrical units, this particual style of "chopper" is really the main stay of that industry. My folks ran a pretty sucessfull picture framing business for about 30 years, and so I sort of grew up around this equipment. In fact when they retired I bought their chopper from them. When ww's come through my shop the most often asked question is " what the heck is that machine?" It is the Morso Guillotine, what else!


The lion miters do have there place as jim has said. Here is a quote from one of the professional frame suppliers

Mitre Trimmer

The Mitre Trimmer is an excellent addition to the home framers workshop. If you are currently cutting frame moulding with a power saw, or a cheaper quality suspension saw, then the mitres can be improved to near perfect by trimming them in the guillotine.
The most acceptable method of cutting for the professional framer is with a Morso Guillotine….. not power saws!! These guillotines have been on the market for over 50 years and produce a near perfect mitre. But for home use, they are not affordable . So the mitre Trimmer is a practical alternative, and they produce a better mitre than a disc sander.
The Mitre Trimmer's super sharp, solid, hollow ground blades leave a clean, smooth cut. Use the Trimmer to shave off a thin piece of the timber to ensure an accurate 45° cut. First cut the moulding into 4 pieces approximately 5mm (1/4") longer than required. This will allow sufficient length to trim the ends for perfect joints every time.
The Trimmer will trim material up to 125mm (5") wide and 100mm (4") thick. Cuts many angles from 90 through to 45° and can be calibrated to ensure accurate mitre cuts. The Trimmer will cut all types of timber, including very hard woods. Blades can be re-sharpened many times over to maintain a quality cutting edge.


So for completness, yes some do use a lion miter, but professionals use the
Morso Guillotine.

[Per Swenson]

Whenever I have a 1/2 day job, or I want to travel lite.
I bring a small lion trimmer, a pair of cutting shears,
japanese shark saw, couple of nail guns and a small compressor.
Most time on these jobs,(and they come often) is spent on
set up and break down. So for all around speed, this is the way to go.
Attached is a pic of the cutting shears, these are a invaluable
tool for the finish carpenter, And yes, with practice you can
achieve perfect mitres. Even in hardwoods.
Per

[Richard Wolf]

I have a lion trimmer which I use sometimes. Its limitations are that they are designed to cut inside corners on flat picture frame type moldings. You can not cut outside corners on stand up molding like chair rail or base because the porfile side would sit againest the fence.

Richard

[Peter Engelmann]

I also have a Lion Trimmer that I used the other day for the first time in years. After trying to "fine tune" a cherry frame I remembered why I haven't used it in a while. Seems that half way through a thin cut the blade "slides" off the miter leaving the lower section of the wood untouched. I clamped the piece in place so I don't think the wood moved. Is there any kind of adjustment for these machines?

Peter

[Scott Banbury]

Peter, it sounds like your blade isn't lapped flat.

I have a Pootatuck and use it regularly in the shop for small trim on furniture and cabinets and always take it with me on outside trim jobs.

They are not very good for picture framing as they don't allow for exact length duplication and offer no support for the rabbet.

Where mine really shines is when I need to miter tight fitting inlays.

[Dave Richards]

I want the Morsø for cutting picture frame miters. Years ago I worked in a picture frame shop and made hundreds of picture frames with one of those, a pneumatic corner clamp and a brad nailer. Quick and dead accurate miters.

The other day I made a picture frame for my bride. I was wishing I had that chopper.

[Steve Stube]

FWIW, I owned and used this 1895 Leland and Faulconer wood trimmer that would trim 1" X 6" stock with perfect accuracy on a 45. I sold it and 3 others of early design to a collector a few years ago.This transaction included an early Lion trimmer, a Dosch (sp?) plus this smaller one from the Grand Rapids Machinery Co. with very fancy castings and individually fitted lathe turned bolts with hand filed (fitted) square heads (very early construction), the carriage moves in an arc for cutting thus providing a scissors action rather than a straight line slicing. The Lion was the only one without adjustable gibs to account for wear.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/ceethese/LFTrimmer.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v19/ceethese/GrandRapidsTrimmer.jpg

Since the sale of these I picked up a NOS all castiron straight front Lion trimmer which my brother is now using. Yes, they do get used.

[Rik Rickerson]

I have the Woodcraft version that I use regularly for small trim and moulding pieces. It works great for smoothing the small amount of tear out I get from my miter saw with a Forrest blade. Someday I'll upgrade to the Lion trimmer.
Take care,
Rik

[Bill Neely]

I've got a Fox Miter Machine like this hiding out in the corner of my shop.

http://www.owwm.com/PhotoIndex/detail.asp?id=2063